You Should Be Mine
by Crystal565
Summary: Leo becomes an elder a year earlier and Piper finds friendship with someone unexpected, which slowly leads to more. Piper/Cole.
1. Trashed

This is a complete AU of season five starting during A Withes Tale. I'm just moving up Leo becoming an elder and leaving Piper a year. She is also not pregnant for this story.

I do really like Leo but I just wanted to try this pairing out. Piper is my favorite character on Charmed and I wanted to write something with her and someone else, and I always liked Cole.

So, I'm working under the assumption that maybe Cole could have been a good guy and overcame all those powers if anyone had of given him a chance. After all, he did love Phoebe and helped her and the sisters. Up until he went crazy that is.

Don't own anything.

* * *

Piper stared out at the ocean, not really seeing it. She wasn't sure why she had come back here. It wasn't as if she had any happy memories of the past few days. She had even almost lost her sister here.

Piper sat down, forcing down tears when she thought of what happened. She had been so stupid! She had cast that spell, that no fear, no pain spell because she just couldn't deal with it anymore and it had almost cost Phoebe her life.

Leo had only been gone for a few weeks, and she hadn't exactly been handling that well. How was she supposed to? She had been so sure that he was it for her, and she still was.

She felt like half of her was missing at the moment. She figured it would get better, at least that was what Phoebe and Paige kept saying. Phoebe kept saying how it had gotten better for her. How she had learned to move on after Cole.

That, however, was not a good example in Pipers mind. After all, it was just a few days ago that Cole had driven Phoebe to nearly abandon everything she knew.

No, Piper didn't see herself being able to move forward yet. She and Leo had even been planning on having a baby. They had been trying without success when he had left.

Sighing, Piper stood up and started to walk back to her car. She stood next to it for a moment, wondering where she could go. She didn't want to go home, not yet anyways.

* * *

Cole sat very still in one of the chairs in his apartment. He had been there for a while now, and he didn't really feel the need to move at the moment.

He guessed he should be used to it by now. After all, it had been happening since he had met the girls. For a second, he wished that he was like all the other demons that he had either fought or worked with. The ones without souls, without a conscious. It would have been easy then. He'd either be dead or they would.

Rejection, death threats, he was pretty much used to it now. He didn't blame Phoebe. He had hurt her a lot. She had given him a lot of chances, put a hell of a lot of faith in him and he had let her down.

He'd been weak, unable to overtake the Source. He had overtaken Balthazar with the help of Phoebe but the Source was a whole lot stronger than Balthazar. He had lost himself.

Sighing, Cole stood up. He needed to get out of here. He was moping, _brooding _about his life. Something that he had never really seen the point of.

He had not gone all weepy when he had first gained a conscious after falling for Phoebe. He always figured he could think about that when he died and that there was really no point in dwelling on the past. You can't change the past after all.

Shaking his head, he left his apartment.

* * *

"Come here often?" Piper's head snapped up. She had been fiddling with her drink at the small bar she had found herself in.

"Cole." She watched him as he sat down across from her at the table with a half smile on his face. "Is that a pick up?"

"Why? Did you want it to be?" Piper's face scrunched up.

"Definitely not." She said after a moment. He leaned forward.

"What are you doing here?" She shrugged.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She drained the rest of her glass. Cole raised an eyebrow and did the same.

"Never figured you'd be here…" Piper snorted.

"Well, I did say I wouldn't do this again after the last time, but hey, here I am."

"The last time?" Piper leaned closer to him.

"Yeah. You know that time when you convinced Phoebe to be your queen." Cole winced slightly at the memory but Piper didn't seem to notice.

"Not me this time, though, is it? Leo ditched you, didn't he? Heard about that." Piper glared at him, but it faded after a moment.

"Yes, he ditched me. Let's talk about that. And then we can talk about how Phoebe killed you." Cole sat back and for a moment he thought Piper looked guilty. She sighed. "Look, if you're going to stay, don't talk about Leo. I won't talk about Phoebe." Cole nodded. Cole tapped his fingers on the table for a few minutes after they ordered more drinks.

"So…killed any demons lately?" Piper rolled her eyes.

"You were there, weren't you? For the last one." Cole nodded. He watched her. She was different now. He knew Piper, almost as well as he knew Phoebe. He had known her for years now.

He had always liked and had a sort of respect for Piper. For the way she handled things, mostly. She was probably the strongest of the Charmed Ones, even before Prue had died. He always liked her ability to make a joke even when she was facing death.

The fire was dulled now, though. It reminded him of the way she had looked right after Prue had died. He felt sympathy well in him. He knew what it was like, after all. He knew what it was like to have the person you loved most turn their backs on you, even if it had been his fault that Phoebe had.

"So, what's the plan? Get drunk enough you forget?"

"For tonight." Piper lifted her newly refilled glass.

"And tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow I have to move on, don't I?" Cole frowned.

"What if you can't?" Piper shrugged again.

"Then I guess I'm screwed."

* * *

"He just left." Piper said later, forgetting her oath not to talk about Leo. "Just like that, to go sit on clouds and meditate or whatever." Cole snorted.

"I don't think I could do it." He said after a moment. He held up a hand when Piper opened her mouth. "And I'm not talking about the demon thing. I'm talking about being bored for an eternity thing." Piper stared at him and then she let out a laugh. It held a little bit of pain to it.

"I guess I'm boring enough that he would choose that." Cole snorted again and shook his head.

"We may not like each other much anymore but you are anything but boring, Piper."

* * *

"So, why come here?" Piper raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we covered that."

"No, I meant why not your own club with your very own bar waiting?" She shrugged.

"Because. I wanted to be alone." She met his eyes.

"I could always leave…" Cole gestured to the door, even though he had no intention of leaving her like this. Piper shook her head.

"No, it's good."

* * *

"Time to go?" Cole asked later, watching as Piper swayed slightly in her seat. She shook her head. Cole sighed and walked over to her. He lifted her out of the chair and started over towards the door.

"Don't want to go back there." She mumbled as they got outside, leaning on him heavily.

"You need to sleep this off, Piper." She shook her head, pulling him into a stop and almost falling over.

"Please don't take me back there. Not like this." Cole sighed and pulled her close again before shimmering out and reappearing in his apartment.

"Fine. You can stay here tonight. But you're going to have to talk to your sisters eventually," he said as he helped her into his room and into bed.

"Tomorrow." She mumbled, her eyes already closing. She opened them again and reached out to grab his arm. "Thank you." He nodded and left the room with another sigh.

_Well, that was certainly unexpected_, he thought as he went into the other room. He had only intended on going out, getting his mind off Phoebe. He hadn't planned on finding Piper trying to drink herself into a coma.

It hadn't really been a choice; he'd had to help her. It was like a reflex, even when he had been possessed by The Source. He hadn't been able to let Paige die then and he hadn't been able to leave Piper alone tonight.

Rubbing a hand on his forehead, he settled down on his couch. Maybe he should leave town, get out of the sisters influence, and move on like Piper said. He considered the idea for a moment. Maybe he'd make sure she was okay first.


	2. I Don't Even Like You

Piper groaned, putting a hand to her pounding head. She lay still for a minute, feeling a little sick and trying to remember what had happened the night before.

Right. She had gotten the brilliant idea to get trashed at some bar. Sighing, she buried her head in her pillow when she remembered why she had done it and a familiar feeling of depression and loss settled over her.

This feeling was gone for a minute, though, when she started to remember what exactly had happened last night. She frowned. Cole had been there. She had been talking to Cole. Her frown deepened when she vaguely remembered him taking her back to his place after she begged him not to take her home.

However, when she finally lifted her head, she was in her room. Cole had brought her back after all, which was probably a good idea. If her sisters found her missing they would freak. The frown didn't leave her face as she thought about the night before and the conversation she'd had with Cole.

They had a real conversation, a civil one which hadn't really happened since before she had found out he was the Source. Of course, he hadn't been back that long. Maybe he had changed.

Groaning again, she decided to think about this when her head didn't feel like it was splitting open.

* * *

Piper stood nervously outside in the hall, still not sure if she should go in. Her sisters had been worried but she had managed to convince them that she wasn't planning on anymore outings at the local bars before they had left.

Making a decision, Piper knocked on the door. She heard his muffled voice from inside and she walked inside. Cole was stood up from his chair at the table when he saw her and walked around. She stopped a couple feet away from him.

"Look, Piper. If you came here to make threats about last night or some new thing that you think I've done to Phoebe-"

"I came to say thank you." She interrupted him. He stopped short and stared at her, surprised. "What? I can say thank you, can't I? You kept me company; made sure I didn't do anything stupid and got home alright." Cole shrugged.

"No problem." Piper shifted on her feet, uncomfortable now that she had said it. She started to go when she caught sight of his table.

"That's not what you're eating, is it?" She asked. Cole glanced that way and frowned at her.

"So?" Piper rolled her eyes, and sitting her purse down on the table she walked purposefully into his kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Cole followed, staring at her like she was crazy. Piper let out a noise of disgust.

"You have nothing in you're kitchen." Sighing, she walked over to him and grabbed his arm. "Come on."

"What?"

"Do your thing. Take us back to the manor."

"Piper I don't-"

"Phoebe's at work. Paige is gone out and won't be back for hours. Now, I don't have all day. You want a real meal or not?"

* * *

"Why are you doing this?" Cole asked as he watched her cook. Piper shrugged.

"You helped me out last night. I'm just returning the favor." Cole gave her a disbelieving look.

"Piper, I tried to kill you in the past."

"If you're talking about the Balthazar thing, you saved my life several times after you reformed. If you're talking about the Source thing, I did help kill you, so…" Cole shook his head.

"Yes, but you don't even like me." Piper stopped for a moment. Cole was right. She hadn't liked him for a while. She'd hated him for taking away her sister, and for what he had put Phoebe through. She just felt the need to repay him somehow.

"Fine." She said calmly. "If you want to go back to your crappy TV dinner, go ahead." She was relived when all she got was silence in answer.

* * *

They ate in silence, mostly. Piper knew that he was feeling just as uncomfortable as she was. It was an odd feeling. Cole had practically been a part of the family for a long while before he had become the Source.

"So, how are you doing?" He finally broke the silence. Piper shrugged.

"Well, I'm not feeling the need to get wasted or perform dangerous spells on myself so okay." Cole smiled a little.

"Dangerous spells?"

"Phoebe didn't tell you about that?" Cole's smile faded.

"We didn't really talk much." Piper nodded, and even felt a little bit guilty about bringing up Phoebe.

"Right. Sorry." She hesitated for a moment. "It was just…I wasn't really handling…everything that well. So, I cast a little spell. It kind of backfired, as usual."

"Everyone makes mistakes."

"Yeah." Piper frowned thoughtfully.

"I better go." Cole said, getting up after a few minutes.

"Right." Piper stood as well.

"Thanks, for this." He put his jacket back on.

"No problem." Cole nodded, about to leave when he stopped, looking her in the eyes.

"If you need to talk to someone…you know, unbiased party or…" He shrugged. "See you, Piper." Piper took the dishes as he shimmered out and frowned again. This had been beyond weird.

She thought that she still wasn't sure why exactly she had invited Cole back to the manor, but he had helped her out the night before and he didn't have to do that. She wasn't Phoebe after all.

She had helped kill him, and he had tried to kill her. That wasn't why she had hated him though. She could deal with death threats, she got them almost everyday. He had almost taken away her sister, though, and that was what she had hated him for.

Still, he had seemed…different today and the night before. He had helped her, even though she hadn't asked for it. Even after the reception he had gotten when he had come back.

It wasn't like they were family…or even friends anymore. Still, it was sweet of him to offer an ear like that.

* * *

"So, how are you doing?" Phoebe asked during dinner the next night.

"I told you, I'm okay." Piper said, getting up.

"You know you can talk to us, right?" Paige said. Piper nodded, but she wasn't sure she wanted to talk to them about this. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk to anyone about it.

* * *

Cole sighed and sat back in his chair at his desk. His thoughts drifted, but this time they didn't drift to Phoebe like usual, they focused on Piper this time and the two conversations they'd had.

It wasn't like it changed anything. They would still think he was evil and out to get them. Piper was just trying to pay him back; it wasn't like she trusted him again. Even if she did, what difference would it make?

A knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts and he was surprised to see Piper once again walking through his door, holding a wrapped plate. He frowned at her.

"Piper, what are you doing here? Again?" She shrugged.

"Well, you see. I sort of made too much for dinner. And nobody eats the leftovers at the house." She held up the plate and Cole took it, a little bewildered.

"Piper, why are you doing this?" She rolled her eyes.

"It told you, you-" He held up a hand.

"Helped, right. It wasn't a big deal. Not like I saved your life or something. Besides you already cooked me dinner, remember?"

"It was a big deal." She stated firmly. "You talked to me, and didn't get all judgmental or anything…"

"I seam to remember just making a joke about how being an elder would be boring."

"Maybe that helped." She shrugged again. "Besides, everyone should have a home cooked meal every once and a while." Cole opened his mouth to say something else but closed it abruptly. Why was he protesting so much? He did enjoy the company and Piper's food was the best.

"I've got to go to the club," Piper looked at her watch, "See you later." She waved as she went out. Cole stared after her, and shook his head. Well, he could say one thing about her, she definitely wasn't predictable.


	3. One of the Good Guys

Piper made it a habit of taking Cole a plate at night before she had to go to P3 nearly every night the next week. They didn't talk much, at least not about anything personal, but Piper began to start looking forward to seeing him.

Cole had stopped looking at her in surprise and stopped asking what she was doing, but she still had the feeling that he was expecting her sisters to burst in after her with a vanquishing potion.

She couldn't blame him for that, really. She didn't mention it, simply rolled her eyes like he was being ridiculous and handed him the plate she'd made and promised in a teasing manner that she hadn't poisoned it.

She didn't tell her sisters what she was doing. They wouldn't understand, she was just beginning to. She liked talking to Cole. He didn't go judgmental on her. He never brought Leo up unless she did first. When she did, he didn't ask her repeatedly if she was okay he just listened, sometimes making jokes in an effort to cheer her up. He understood. It was as simple as that. He understood what it was like.

She loved her sisters, really, but sometimes she needed it. She needed to talk to someone who wasn't so close, someone who wasn't close to Leo, who didn't love him. Her sisters considered him a brother, a member of the family, and she liked talking to someone who wouldn't end up defending his decision to leave.

She was also feeling the need to help him. For brief moments, he made the pain of loosing Leo go away, and she wanted to do the same for him. She wanted to help him get over losing Phoebe. He was all alone. No friends, no family.

She tried to imagine what it would be like one night. Alone in that giant apartment without her sisters or anyone, alone with the pain of losing Leo. She shuddered at the image and thought it might have driven her crazy, and she felt her sympathy for Cole rise. So, she made sure that he wasn't alone, at least not all the time.

* * *

"Hey." Piper said, walking into his apartment a little over a week after the first time, although this time without a plate.

"Hello, Piper." She walked over to his desk and stood in front of it, glancing at her watch.

"So, I've got an hour until I have to go to P3." She walked around the desk and pulled him out of his chair by his arm. "Come on."

"Where exactly are we going this time?"

"You're taking me to dinner. Phoebe and Paige are both out, and I didn't cook. Now, come on. I think I parked in the wrong place."

"Piper-"

"I figured it would be better to drive there than shimmering or whatever you call that new power of yours. Come on." She started out the door.

* * *

"Did you forgive me?" Cole asked abruptly when they were halfway through the meal.

"Huh?" Piper looked up at him.

"For, you know, the things I did after the Source took over?" Piper stared at him. _Did _she forgive him for that? He had nearly destroyed her family. She frowned when what he said sunk in.

"What do you mean, when the Source took over?"

"I mean what I did as the Source." Piper shook her head.

"Yeah, but you're talking about the Source and yourself like its two separate people." Cole gave her a startled look.

"I thought you knew about that."

"Knew about what? The Source possessed you, didn't he?" When Cole nodded, Piper sat back and sighed. She had been expecting something like this and truthfully she thought that was it for a while.

Phoebe seemed to think that Cole had chosen to give in to the Sources powers, but Piper never could understand how someone who had helped them out so much, someone who had saved her and her sisters lives so many times could turn out that way. She didn't understand how the person who had sat and listened to her ramblings and helped her this past week could choose evil like that.

"Why didn't you tell her about this?" She asked, almost angry. The anger evaporated, though, when she saw the incredulous look and she realized how stupid that question was. Even if it mattered to Phoebe, she would never believe Cole, not after everything that had happened.

"It doesn't matter anyways," Cole shrugged, "he won. And I…" He trailed off, looking away from her.

"But you tried to fight him," now Piper was frowning and thinking back over the past year. Everything that had happened and her eyes widened. "You saved Paige's life."

"What?" Piper was looking away from him now, lost in thought herself.

"When she was infected by that demon. The one that drove her crazy. You saved her life."

"Piper, I'm the one who set that whole thing up. I had them infect her."

"Yes, but you could have just let her die. That was the plan, wasn't it? But you didn't follow through."

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters," she really couldn't believe she hadn't thought about this before "The source would have killed us all. He tried to for years. He wouldn't have let Paige live. He wouldn't have protected Phoebe. It was you. You held him back. You're the reason we're alive."

"You're giving me too much credit." Cole was staring at her like she was crazy but she just smiled at him.

"No. I think I've been giving you too little credit for far too long."

"Piper-"

"I'm sorry." She said, cutting him off and reached over to take his hand. "I should have realized before, I just never thought about it." He stared at her another minute before a smile spread across his face, a real smile that even reached his eyes.

* * *

"Crap!" Piper yelled, falling behind the bar after blowing up the nearest demon. She had been preparing to open P3 when four upper level demons decided to drop by. She was pissed, and outnumbered. _At least they decided to come before I opened. _

Piper stood up and succeeded in blowing up another one but she took a glancing blow from an energy ball. She flew to the right and connected painfully with the side of the bar. The remaining two demons advanced and she opened her mouth to call Paige but before she could both demons screamed and blew up on their own.

_Well, maybe not on their own, _she thought when she caught sight of Cole standing behind where the demons used to be. He rushed over to her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm great." She said. Her arm hurt where she had bounced off the bar. She pressed her other hand to her side and found she was bleeding. Concern shown in Cole's eyes as he helped her up.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, slightly alarmed when she swayed on her feet.

"I'll be okay." She leaned on him a little when he helped her to sit down.

"Maybe I should take you to the hospital…" He trailed off when he heard footsteps coming from the stairs and Phoebe and Paige talking. He glanced that way before turning to her briefly.

"Take care of that." He said sternly, pointing to her wound before shimmering out.

* * *

"Hey." Piper said much later that night when Cole answered his door. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Piper, what are you doing here?"

"I'm fine," she said in exasperation as she walked past him into his apartment. Her side still hurt and she had a massive bruise on her shoulder, but she was mostly okay. "I've had worse injuries than this."

"Sit down." He led her over to his couch. "And you still haven't answered my question. You should be in bed."

"I came to say thank you again." She grinned at him. He shook his head and sat down on the table in front of the couch, facing her.

"And you couldn't have said that later, after you got some rest?"

"I also wanted to tell you that I didn't tell Phoebe and Paige you were there." She carefully leaned forward, watching him. His expression closed off for a second but she could almost hear what he was thinking. "I want to. But I think this is your decision and since you left so quickly…"

"You really think they'd believe I would help without a hidden agenda?" His voice held a little bitterness.

"Maybe. You saved my life back there. Maybe if I…" Cole shook his head.

"You start sticking up for me and they're going to think I cast a spell on you or something." And maybe that was true but she knew that she could convince her sisters. He surprised her, though, with what he said next.

"I don't want you to fight with your family over me." Piper smiled softly and reached out to put a hand on his cheek.

"And if I didn't already believe that you were one of the good guys…" Standing carefully, she leaned forward to place a small kiss on his forehead before heading towards the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Cole."


	4. Not Evil

This chapter takes place over about two months. Most of it's just a lot of Cole/Piper bonding. The last bit gets into Sympathy for the Demon, though. I really wanted to do that episode. I've also changed the name of this story, just thought this one fit better. It's actually a line from one of the prettiest love songs I've ever heard by Finger Eleven.

* * *

"So, is it like a immortality thing?" Piper asked as Cole took her through a few stretches. She had caught him working out a few days before and he said that it helped him relax, helped him sleep, so she had decided to join him. "I mean, you gotta have a lot of time on your hands if you think your never going to die. And those guys can't spend all their time planning out their kills, right?"

"Piper, what are you talking about?" Cole finally looked up at her.

"Well, I've met a lot of demons. A lot of which looked like they stepped out of a body builder contest." Amusement sparked in Cole's eyes.

"Maybe they're overcompensating for something." Piper grinned.

"Maybe." Cole was a lot more relaxed around her since the incident at her club two weeks before, something that she was grateful for. Her reasons for coming over to his place were slowly changing from her need to talk to someone other than Paige or Phoebe and not wanting him to be alone.

She found that she genuinely liked spending time with him. She had never really before, not even before he became the Source. It had always been about Phoebe for him back then. She had never spent much time alone with him.

He was, well, fun to be around. Most of the time he kept the mood light, and he hardly ever talked about Phoebe, even though Piper made it clear that he could if he wanted to.

She still hadn't told her sisters about her friendship with him. She knew that it was stupid and that they would likely find out anyways, but she was afraid of what would happen if she did tell them.

A part of her was afraid that if Phoebe pushed him far enough he'd leave. Paige had nearly driven him out of town with a few comments after all. Another part of her was afraid that what Cole had said was right. That they would think she was under some spell and that they'd find a way to vanquish him.

She was sure that, even if neither of these two things happened, that they wouldn't understand. She had the feeling that Phoebe would feel betrayed that she had struck up a friendship with the man who had hurt her so badly.

* * *

"You said that to your boss?" Cole asked. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, that's not so much a surprise." Piper gave him a mock glare.

"I was a little bit on the shy side back then. I even refused to go outside after Prue cast the truth spell." She smiled a bit, thinking about how much she really had changed over the years.

"You were shy?" Piper huffed a little.

"Is that really so hard to believe?" He stared at her incredulously.

"Piper, you walked into my apartment and _ordered _me to take you out to dinner." Shy and timid were two words that he would have never associated with Piper Hallowell.

"So, what changed?" He finally asked and she shrugged.

"Well, fighting evil on a daily basis will knock that out of a person. Plus, when Prue died…" She trailed off and he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head and smiled at him before settling down further beside him to watch the rest of the movie.

* * *

"Hey." Piper glanced briefly at her sisters when she walked into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow when she saw what Phoebe was wearing. "Where are you headed?"

"Got a date." Phoebe shrugged. "I'll be back late." She waved on her way out. Piper watched her go. She hadn't mentioned to Cole that Phoebe had started dating again. She didn't know if Cole would ever get over Phoebe but she wanted to give him a little more time before saying anything.

"Well, she's getting back into the game." Paige shrugged.

"She is trying to move on after everything that's happened. And, with Cole keeping his distance, I think it's easier." Paige frowned. "It's odd, though. Never thought he'd give up so easy."

"Maybe he's just respecting her wishes." Piper said, an odd need to defend Cole rising up in her. Paige scoffed.

"I doubt it's that."

"Why not?" A tiny bit of anger leaked into her voice. "He loved her, probably still does." Paige stared at her like she was crazy and Piper sighed, getting her purse.

"I've got to go to P3."

* * *

Piper laughed a little, something that she usually didn't do and buried her head in Cole's shoulder, slightly embarrassed.

"We were completely paranoid back then. I mean, we had just become witches and read all the warning sides of for warlocks, and so we naturally assumed that if anyone showed even one that they were."

"So how did you find out that your ex wasn't?"

"Well, we found out that warlocks don't bleed really, so I froze him and pricked him with a needle. And then I completely freaked out when he didn't bleed." Cole smiled, amusement in his eyes.

"But you didn't wait till you unfroze him before you freaked out." He finished and she nodded.

"Prue forgot about that too." She said in her defense. "The cat was actually hissing at a

hornets nest right outside the door and Dan just assumed that he had been stung."

"And Prue's man? Was she just seeing things?" Piper laughed harder and shook her head.

"No, he had a twin brother and they were messing with her. The stuff that Prue heard him thinking was because he worked in a morgue." Cole shook his head, chuckling as well.

"I was so freaked out about everything back then. Didn't even believe it until I froze someone accidentally."

* * *

"I really thought she wouldn't quit. I understand it, but…" Piper watched him. He let out a sigh and started to rise off the couch. "You want to do something? Maybe go out?"

"Cole." Piper grabbed his hand, dragging him back down on the couch. He shifted a little restlessly.

"I really don't think we should be talking about this." She sat sideways, facing him.

"I'm not forcing you too. But you can." Cole sighed and leaned his head back on the couch. It had taken him a while to even mention Phoebe's name.

"Look, I know it's not the same, but talking about what happened with Leo helped me. Maybe it'll help you too. Trust me, keeping it all in will drive you crazy."

"Leo didn't leave because you tried to kill his family."

"Maybe not, but that wasn't you. If it was, I wouldn't be here."

"It's just…she was everything. She was what kept me stable, what kept me from…" He turned to her. "When I first met her, it was like…I mean, that was it for me. I killed my bosses for her. I changed sides for her. I gave up what I was for her. And now…"

"Now you're afraid that without her, you'll change back?"

"It's-"

"Understandable." Piper finished for him. "I mean, we've all been there before. You remember how angry I was after Prue died." She smiled softly at him. "But if it does happen, you might not have her, but I'll bring you back."

"You will?" Cole raised an eyebrow, and Piper's smile widened.

"Of course." She said, standing up and pulling him with her. "You still want to go out?"

* * *

Piper bounced around the kitchen, humming along with the radio that played in the background and still in her workout clothes. She had just left Cole's.

"Hey." Paige said as she and Phoebe entered the kitchen, still looking half asleep. She watched as Piper made something for breakfast. "You've been getting up early lately."

"Been going for early runs." She shrugged. She noticed the look that Phoebe and Paige exchanged.

"What?" Phoebe reached over and turned off the music. The serous set of her face had Piper worried that she knew who she was taking these runs with.

"Paige and I have been talking. About, you know, how different you've been lately." Piper frowned.

"Different how?"

"Well, not as depressed I guess."

"So, what? You guys want me to mope about Leo forever?"

"No!" Phoebe shook her head. "It's just, well, we've noticed you've been going out more, and maybe you don't want to tell us why because you don't think we'd understand you moving on so fast…" Piper stared at her before laughing.

"You think I'm dating someone new." She said, shaking her head. "I'm not dating anyone."

"Okay." Paige raised her hands. "You just seem so much happier lately. And, if you were it'd be okay." Piper rolled her eyes.

"I'm not dating anyone." She repeated before turning the music back on and continuing to make breakfast.

"Well, whoever or whatever it is, I'm glad you're moving on." Phoebe said, gong around the island to give her a hug.

"Thanks." Piper said, guilt welling at the way she was lying to them both. She chewed her lip for a moment and made a decision. She couldn't lie to them anymore, but she needed to talk to Cole first.

* * *

"Piper!" Cole grabbed her shoulders. "I'm so glad you're here. Listen something strange is going on." He'd been hearing things all day. Hearing people say things that they didn't really say. Seeing things. He frowned when he looked into her eyes. Piper's eyes were cold and she stepped out of Cole's grasp.

"Damn right there is." She looked at him in disgust. "This _friendship _is what's strange."

"Piper-"

"I can't believe I actually thought you could be good."

"I am. You said…"

"I was wrong. I finally see it now." She stepped closer to him and put a hand to his cheek when he shook his head. "You can't fight what you are, Cole." Before he knew what he was doing, he had slammed her into the wall and wrapped his fingers around her neck.

"I'm not evil!"

"Cole!" Another voice interrupted and he was pulled away from Piper but when he blinked and looked back at her, it wasn't Piper.

* * *

Piper frowned when Cole didn't answer his door. She could hear him talking to someone inside. She had come to inform him that she wanted to tell her sisters about their friendship and was a little bit nervous about his reaction.

Sighing, she went ahead and opened his door and stepped inside just in time to see him slamming the blonde she knew was his secretary into the wall and choking her.

"Cole!" She ran over and pulled his arm away from the girl. He blinked looking from her to the girl. The girl stared at him in shock before running out of the room.

"Piper?" He reached up to touch her hair.

"Yeah. What the hell was that?" Not answering, he pulled her into a tight, desperate hug.

"You've got to help me," he said, not letting her go, "I don't know what's wrong with me." Piper wrapped her arms around him.

"Don't worry, I'll help you."

* * *

Okay, hope you guys liked this. Next chapter will deal specifically with Sympathy for the Demon. Honestly, I wasn't going to do any of the episodes from season five but when I thought about it, I just really wanted to do this one.


	5. Piper's Worst Fear

"Alright, I'll figure it out." Piper said after he had told her everything. She picked up her discarded purse, already searching for her keys. "Come on. We'll take the car so you don't have to use your powers." Cole didn't budge when she started towards the door, though.

"Piper, I can't go back to the manor with you."

"Look, I need the book. Maybe there's something there that can help with this."

"You don't get it." He grabbed her shoulders again. "I could really hurt someone. I could hurt…"

"I can take care of myself." She said softly, removing his hands from her shoulders and taking them in hers. Truthfully, she didn't think she could really take Cole on, not if he actually wanted to hurt her. She was confident that she could snap him out of it before he could do any damage however. She wasn't so sure about anyone else in his building.

"No." He shook his head and stepped away from her. "I can't risk that." Piper sighed.

"Alright. Just…don't go anywhere until I get back. Stay here. And don't use your powers. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise." She hesitated for a moment before wrapping her arms around him in another hug.

"It's happening now." He said quietly.

"I said I'd bring you back, remember? Don't worry."

* * *

Piper had looked through everything. There was only one thing to do, and she did not like it. She had formed a sort of idea that she thought might work, but from what Cole said, she couldn't wait to test that one out. It had to be soon.

She couldn't help but to think of Prue, and the way that she had acted after receiving the empath power that hadn't been meant for her. It had nearly destroyed Prue because she wasn't meant to have it.

Cole wasn't meant to have these powers. They weren't truly his and he was acting sort of the same as she had learned people did when they received so much power that they weren't prepared for. He wasn't turning evil, they were just driving him crazy, making him see and hear things that weren't there.

She looked down at the potion in her hand and stood up. She had promised. She wouldn't let him lose himself to this.

* * *

Piper burst through Cole's door when she heard him shout from out in the hall. He was standing in the center of the room, glaring at something she couldn't see.

"Cole!" She went over and put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her abruptly, flinching away from her touch.

"Keep away from me." He growled.

"Cole…" She tried to get closer to him but he stepped back further.

"I said stay away!" He looked around the room a little widely. Piper chewed her lip. She did step all the way into his space.

"Cole, look at me." She reached up and put hands on the side of his face, trying to get him to meet her gaze. He wouldn't quite though and she could still see the paranoia there in his eyes. He looked so desperate, and lost.

Reacting on instinct, not thinking first, Piper lifted up on her toes and met his lips with hers. The kiss was soft and brief and only meant to shock him out of whatever delusion he was in. When she pulled back, she found herself feeling a little lightheaded, but his eyes were clear. They stared at each other for a few moments before Piper shook herself out of her stupor.

"Are you okay now?" He nodded.

"Tell me you found something." Piper hesitated for a moment.

"I found something…but Cole, I really don't like it."

"What?" Piper held up the potion.

"It's a power stripping potion. The same one Phoebe made for you except I made some modifications. It's the only thing I could come up with on such short notice. I doubt binding your powers would work seeing as you are so powerful now. Even with the power of three, the binding probably wouldn't hold."

Cole eyed the potion for a moment, considering his options. His eyes narrowed after a minute tough and he nodded.

"Let's do it." He reached for it, but Piper pulled back.

"Cole, are you sure about this? It'll leave you defenseless." He looked into her eyes, reaching out to touch her hair and told her the truth.

"I can't risk hurting you." He said softly before taking the potion from her hands and downing it. When he screamed in pain and fell to the ground, she kneeled next to him, slightly panicked.

"Cole?" She leaned over him, turning his face towards her. "Are you alright?" She asked when his eyes finally focused. He wasn't looking at her, though, he was looking at something behind her.

"Barbas." She heard him say.

"What?" Piper looked around and jumped to her feet in alarm, staring at Barbas. "Oh, crap." She tried kept herself in front of Cole, aware that he didn't have any way to defend himself now. Cole got to his feet and gently pushed her to the side, though. He raised a hand, and Barbas raised his. An energy ball appeared there.

"Looking for this?"

"No!" Piper yelled as he sent it straight at Cole. Cole flew backwards from the force of it and through the closed balcony doors. Barbas turned his gaze to her.

"Thanks for freeing me, Piper." He grinned. "Better go check on your boyfriend." Piper stood frozen in place for several seconds after Barbas shimmered out before she was running over to where Cole was.

"Oh, God." She knelt next to him. He was bleeding badly. She ripped her jacket off and pressed it into the horrible wound that the energy ball had created.

"Cole?" She reached over with her other hand and put it on his cheek. "Cole, come on. I need you to wake up." She pressed harder on his wound, trying to stop it from bleeding and he groaned. His eyes opened wide but they were unfocussed.

"Hey," she leaned closer, "it's going to be okay."

"Piper-" He groaned again, his breathing slightly erratic.

"I'm going to take care of you, don't worry." She looked around, and desperation took over when his eyes began to close. She called the only person that she knew would be able to help.

"Leo!" She stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes welled with tears when she turned back to Cole and she found him unconscious. "Leo, please!" She called again. "Please!" She repeated. "I need you!" For a moment, she thought he was going to ignore her or that he couldn't hear her but then she saw the bright blue orbs and Leo materialized a few feet away.

"Piper, what is it?" He asked, slightly alarmed by the tears running down her face.

"He's dying!" She said desperately. "He's bleeding so badly. I can't get it too stop. Please, you have to heal him." Leo's eyes widened when he saw Cole.

"Piper, what is going on? And you know I can't heal a demon."

"He's not a demon anymore, he's human. Could you just…please heal him." There was so much desperation and panic in her eyes that Leo put his questions on hold and held his hands over Cole's wound. Piper sat back. In a few seconds the wound closed and the cuts on Cole's face arms from flying through the door disappeared. Cole drew in a breath and sat straight up. Piper didn't hesitate, she simply threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Don't you ever do that again." She whispered fiercely but loud enough that Leo heard her. He watched the two of them as Cole returned the embrace, running a hand down her back, trying to soothe her.

"Somebody want to tell me what is going on here?"

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Phoebe paced in front of the couch, refusing to look at either Cole or Piper, "you and Cole have been _friends _for months now, since after the whole mermaid incident. He's the one you've been spending all your time with. Cole started going crazy and so you guys decided that stripping his powers would be a good idea, only they didn't disappear. Now, Cole's human and Barbas is back and has his powers."

"Yes." Piper stared at her hands. When she looked up, she saw that look of betrayal in Phoebe's eyes.

"How could you, Piper? How could you go to him after everything that he put me through? How could you lie about it?"

"I'm sorry." Piper stood up. "I knew you wouldn't understand. I was afraid of how you'd react. He helped me-"

"Helped you?" Leo interrupted, the same look in his eyes. "Piper, he's evil!"

"He's not!" She said fiercely.

"I can't believe you. I leave and you run to a demon."

"But you did leave, Leo. You left me here alone. You chose them over me. You said you'd love me forever. You said you'd never do that, but you did anyway."

"I didn't have a choice, Piper!"

"You always have a choice!" She yelled right back. "You didn't choose me. He helped me." She repeated, quietly now. "He listened. He understood." Leo glared at Cole and the betrayal and anger in his eyes heightened when Piper stepped in front of Cole.

"What I saw today was not someone who just wants to be friends." Leo said quietly. Phoebe gasped and Cole stood up behind Piper, putting a hand on her arm.

"Uh, guys?" Paige finally spoke up. "Maybe we should talk about this after we find a way to vanquish Barbas?" Piper looked over at Phoebe.

"Fine." She said, but refusing to look at them again. "You should take Cole out of here." She said to Leo.

"What?" Piper said, watching her sisters. Phoebe sighed tiredly.

"He's human now, you said it yourself. He'll just get killed if he stays here." She turned and walked out of the room without another word.

* * *

Piper watched Phoebe flipping through the book, trying to find a way to get rid of Barbas. They had already tried the Source vanquishing spell without luck and now they were trapped in the house.

"Piper?" She jumped up from her seat when Cole entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" He shrugged, shaking his head.

"I don't know. I was just…here."

"And Leo?" He shook his head again. Piper chewed her lip.

"Cole." Phoebe walked over to stand in front of him. She glanced over at Piper before raising her arm. Piper didn't see the knife there until it was too late, until she had slammed it into Cole's heart with all her strength and then yanking it out.

"I'm sorry," Phoebe gave her a sad look as Cole fell backwards, "it's for your own good." Piper fell to her knees, in shock, next to him. His eyes were open wide, but he obviously wasn't seeing anything.

Trembling, she reached out a hand to touch his face, tears once again streaming down hers.

* * *

Phoebe helped Paige up the stairs to the attic, practically carrying her. She had almost beat her own sister to death. Thankfully, Paige had gotten through to her in time. They still couldn't get out, though, which meant one thing.

When she opened the door to the attic, she found Piper on her knees in the middle of the room. She was crying and shaking. Phoebe sat Paige down carefully and walked over to kneel in front of Piper.

"Piper?" Piper scrambled away from her, staring at Phoebe. There was horror in her eyes, and pain.

"You…how could you?" She put her hands on her face, still crying.

"Piper, whatever it is, it's not real, remember?" Piper shook her head.

"You killed him." She whispered. Phoebe stared at her sister, shocked, and realized what it was that Piper was seeing exactly. Closing her eyes for a moment she took a deep breath.

"Piper, look at me," reaching out, Phoebe removed Pipers hands from her face and replaced them with her own, "you have to know, honey. No matter how angry I am. I would never, _never _do that to you."

The pain in Piper's eyes confirmed this. Phoebe couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe how much Piper really cared for Cole. She would never do that to someone that Piper cared for so much, she would never hurt her sister like that.

"I love you, alright? No matter what. I wouldn't hurt you like that." She repeated her thoughts out loud. Piper looked to the side, to whatever that she couldn't see and when Phoebe looked around, the bricks that were keeping them inside began to disappear. In a few seconds, they were gone and Phoebe let out a relieved sigh.

"Leo!" She called. Leo and Cole both appeared a few seconds later and Piper stood up and threw her arms around Cole, still crying a little bit. Phoebe looked away and stood up.

"You need to heal Paige," she said to Leo, "and we need to finish this."

* * *

After Barbas was vanquished, after Cole had disappeared back to his apartment, Piper stood next to her sisters and Leo. She stepped away and turned back to them.

"I'm going to bed." Phoebe said quietly. She still looked angry as she pulled Paige from the room leaving Piper and Leo alone. They both stood in silence for a few minutes.

"Maybe you should go get some sleep too." Leo said after a minute, but Piper shook her head.

"I can't, not yet." She said.

"Going to visit Cole again." Piper sighed and ran a hand across her eyes.

"Leo, please."

"Piper, he's not human. He'll just end up hurting you."

"You mean like you did?" She shook her head. "We've been friends for months now, Leo. He hasn't hurt me yet. He's a good person." She started past him and he put a hand on her arm to stop her.

"I just…I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I know. I can take care of myself, Leo. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

"Piper, I know we're not together anymore, but I'll always worry about you." Piper smiled sadly at him.

* * *

"Hey." Piper said quietly when Cole opened his door. He looked like he had been trying to sleep.

"Hey." He let her in. "Are you alright?" She shrugged.

"Can't sleep." She said. He put a hand on her back and led her over to the couch.

"Yeah."

"I keep thinking about what I saw." She frowned when tears formed in her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"What did you see?"

"You die." Cole gave her a startled look before he smiled a little and brushed her hair off her face.

"I'm right here. I'm fine." She smiled back and shifted closer to him. She rested her head on her chest and he wrapped one arm around her. They both finally fell asleep like that.

* * *

Next chapter I'll get into the Piper and Phoebe conversation. I just wanted to end this one with a Cole/Piper moment.


	6. Cole's Fear

Piper sighed as she slowly woke up. Someone was threading a hand through her hair and she buried her head further into his chest. She didn't want to wake up. And then she remembered everything that happened. Sitting up abruptly, Piper looked up to meet Cole's eyes.

"Hey." He said, smiling softly at her. She smiled back at him. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." She frowned when she noticed the fact that he was still sitting up on the couch. "You could have woken me up. It couldn't have been too comfortable sleeping like that."

"I'm comfortable." He said, smiling at her. She looked down, blushing a little. When she looked back up and their eyes met, neither of them said anything. Before she knew it, he was leaning in and their lips met once again.

The kiss was a world of difference than the last one, and Piper stopped thinking. She put her arm around his neck, pulling him closer. He put a hand on her hip and pulled her into his lap, not breaking the kiss.

When they finally broke apart, after what seemed like forever to her, she stared at him for a minute, still sitting in his lap, and then she jumped out of his lap and backed away from him.

"Oh, God." She mumbled, closing her eyes and raising her hands to cover her face. "I am so stupid. I'm so sorry." When she put her hands down, he had stood up, looking startled.

"Piper…" He tried to get closer to her, but she held up a hand.

"I'm sorry." She repeated.

"Piper, you don't have anything to be sorry about." He said, grabbing her shoulders.

"I…I should go." She stepped out of his reach and went to get her purse, lying beside the couch.

"Piper-"

"I'll see you later. Or something. Sorry." She said before practically running out of the his place.

* * *

God, she was so stupid. Piper angrily threw her purse down on her nightstand before sitting on her bed. She put her head in her hands.

Piper wasn't stupid. She knew that she had feelings for Cole. She hadn't really thought about it at all until the mess with Barbas but she had known the minute she had walked into his apartment and saw him so lost. She had known when her first instinct had been to kiss him to snap him out of it.

She could admit, at least to herself. She cared about Cole, and was maybe falling in love with him. The feelings that she had for Leo were slowly being replaced by feelings for Cole. She still cared for Leo, still loved him she guessed, but it wasn't the same anymore.

Her first reaction lately to something bad happening was to run to Cole's penthouse. Her first reaction to seeing him losing it had been to help him. If she was honest with herself, she had been wanting to kiss him for a while now, she just hadn't acknowledged it.

Letting out a frustrated breath, Piper flopped back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. _Why _did she always have to fall for guys who were unattainable?

She had fallen for a demon and a ghost in her first year of being a witch. Leo…it had taken so long for them to even get started. There had been so much pain. The elders taking him away, refusing to let them get married, only for it to end when he became an elder.

And now Cole. She did not think Cole was evil. She _knew _that he was a good man. But, he was a good man who was in love with her sister. He was a good man who used to be her brother-in-law.

Piper had no illusions about that. Cole loved Phoebe. He had given up his powers for her once. He had been possessed by the Source for her. Good, evil, it didn't matter. Cole loved her.

Cole's love for Phoebe had overtaken the Source at times. He had told her about that after she had finally gotten him to open up about Phoebe. Hell, the only reason that they had known Cole was the Source was because he let his guard down enough for Phoebe to get a premonition.

How could she ever compete with a love like that? Phoebe's love for Cole may have died, but she knew that his hadn't. Phoebe had always been everything to him.

She couldn't understand how Phoebe could let something like that go. Well, Cole had hurt her, badly. But that wasn't really him, that had been the Source. Phoebe had just given up and that was unlike her.

_Isn't that what you're doing_? She had once thought that way about Leo. She had thought that their love could conquer everything. She had thought that she would never love anyone else but him

He had left her, though. He had left because _they _told him to, and she couldn't help but think that Cole would have never done that. That if he were in Leo's position, he would have fought for her.

Except it wasn't her that he would fight for. It kept coming back to that. He didn't love her. Piper rolled over onto her side and curled up. A small frown came to her as another thought hit her.

If this was true, why had he kissed her back? In fact, when she thought about it, he had been the one to lean in first. He had kissed her, the second time at least. Was he thinking about Phoebe when he was doing it?

No, that wasn't him. He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't play her like that. Sitting up, Piper wiped her eyes, surprised that she had been crying a little bit and got out of bed. She needed to talk to him.

* * *

Phoebe didn't bother knocking. She was too angry. She knew that Piper had spent the night here, and she wondered what they had done exactly. Then again, did she really want to know? She still couldn't believe this was happening.

"What are you doing here?" Cole asked with a weary sigh when she walked over to him. He was sitting on his couch and flipping through the channels on his TV halfheartedly. She stepped in front of the TV.

"I need to talk to you," she grabbed the remote from him and flicked the TV off, "about Piper." His gaze immediately snapped to hers.

"Is she alright?" Phoebe was taken aback by the concern in his eyes for a moment.

"For now. I want to know what you're doing." Cole stood up, shaking his head and walked away from her.

"What do you care? I thought you made it clear that you never wanted to see me again." Phoebe glared at him.

"I care about my sister. I care if you're playing her. I can't believe you'd strike up a friendship with her out of the goodness of your heart. If you hurt her…" Cole turned his own glare at her.

"I would _never _hurt Piper." The conviction in his voice was familiar. She had seen that look in his eyes before as well. Phoebe gasped.

"You love her." Cole froze and stared at her.

"What?" Phoebe stood there, staring at him, in shock.

"You love her. You don't love me anymore." Cole stared at her as if she were crazy.

"You pushed me away, Phoebe. Don't you remember? You're the one who said that it wouldn't work. You're the one who said that I'd always be evil, the bad guy."

"You still haven't answered my question. You love Piper?" Cole avoided her eyes.

"Why do you care?" Phoebe shook herself, and her anger came back.

"I care because I don't want to see my sister get hurt." She repeated.

"I told you, I-"

"'Would never hurt Piper' that's what you said," She tilted her head to the side, watching him, "you said that to me once, remember? You think this will be different?" He stared at her for a minute. He looked thoughtful, not angry. She did catch the flash of guilt in his eyes which made her waver for a moment in what she had come to do.

"Does it make you angry that Piper forgave me for what I did as the Source? Does it make you angry that I'm finally moving on? It's what you wanted, right?"

"I wanted you to move on, but not to one of my sisters. As for the forgiveness…it is so easy to fall for you, Cole. I fell for you so fast. It made me overlook that you were still evil back then, that you were sent to kill me. It made me overlook the fact that you were the Source. It is easy to fall in love with you." She took a deep breath and looked away for a moment.

"But I've seen what your love does, Cole. Your love nearly destroyed me. It nearly destroyed my whole family." She looked back at him and couldn't keep the hurt from showing. "How many times did you try to kill Piper? How long before it happens again? How long before you hurt her worse than Leo ever could have?" Cole stood frozen during her entire speech, staring at her. She sighed.

"Do you really want to destroy another person like this?" She asked after a moment before she turned and walked away from him.

Once she was in the elevator going down, Phoebe leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. She thought about what she said. It wasn't out of jealousy, really. She really was trying to move on from him, but she couldn't believe that he was good again.

When she thought of Piper, she felt a little bit of guilt. _I'm doing the right thing. _Cole would only hurt her, and she did not want her sister to go through what she had, especially after everything that had happened with Leo.

* * *

Piper frowned when she stopped at Cole's door. It was open a little bit. She walked inside and froze. The room was a mess. The couch they had slept on the night before was in shambles and there were scorch marks there.

Piper's heart sped up. Had demons attacked while she was gone? Even though Piper knew that Cole was pretty much invincible right now, she couldn't help the fear. Fear that left when Cole came out of his room, pulling a shirt over his head.

"What happened here?" She asked. Cole turned to her, and shrugged, not answering. When she met his eyes, though, that fear came back with a vengeance. His eyes looked…hollow, that was the only way she could describe it. She walked over to him.

"What happened to you?" He shook his head, running hand through his already disheveled hair.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." His voice sent shivers down her back. It was emotionless, dead. He turned away from her and walked into his room. When she followed, she saw the small bag on his bed, which he shouldered.

"You're leaving." She said, unable to help the tears forming in her eyes. She had come over to tell him her feelings, tell him what she was feeling for him, and now he was leaving. When he looked over at her, she saw some emotion finally flash in his eyes. Regret.

"I'm sorry, Piper." He said, walking over to her. "I don't want to hurt you." Piper recoiled.

"That's what this is about?!"

"I have to go." He said, kissing her forehead.

"Cole." He didn't give her a chance to finish as he shimmered out. She stared at the spot where he had disappeared and fell to her knees, letting the tears fall.


	7. Love Is Enough

This is my last chapter. It takes place a week after the last chapter ended. Also, I suck at poetry so the spell in this chapter probably sucks. Sorry.

* * *

Piper flipped through the book, a pen and paper next to it in case she needed to write down a spell. Most of the demons she had faced so far, she could vanquish with her own power, though. Mostly lower level demons.

"Piper?" She looked up as both of her sisters walked into the attic, but almost immediately looked back at the book.

"What?"

"Piper, stop." Phoebe put her hand down on the book, preventing her from turning the page again. Piper looked up again. "You can't deal with things this way. Didn't you learn anything last time? This is the way that you dealt with Prue's death. You remember how that ended?"

"Don't worry, Phoebe. I'm not going to turn into anything nasty. The person I'm pissed at now is out of reach." Phoebe sighed.

"Piper…"

"What do you want me to do, Phoebe?" She had already cleaned the entire house. She had organized the pantries and their potions ingredients. She spent too much time cooking. Anything to get her mind off how her life had turned out.

"You really cared about Cole this much?" Paige broke in.

"It doesn't matter now." Piper picked up the book, hugging it to her chest. "I was wrong about him."

"Honey, I know you thought he was a good guy-"

"Not that." Piper interrupted Phoebe with a glare. "I meant…You know when I realized that maybe I…that it wasn't all about Leo anymore, not for me. You want to know what I thought? I thought if it were Cole, that he wouldn't just leave like Leo did. I thought that he would fight harder than Leo did." She shrugged, fighting off tears. "Guess I was wrong about him too." She started past her sisters.

"I'll be in my room."

* * *

Phoebe let out a sigh after Piper had left the room and sat down on the couch. Piper had been spending all her time working now. Cooking, cleaning, working at the club, demon hunting. The past week, she had been keeping herself constantly busy.

"I just…I had no idea she cared about him this much." Paige callapsed on the couch next to her.

"Yeah, neither did I. I mean, we just found out that they were friends. This is beyond surreal. And I was worried about _you _going back to him."

"They love each other." Phoebe said quietly. Paige scoffed.

"Look, maybe Piper thinks she loves Cole, but do you really think that he feels that for her?"

"Yes." Phoebe said firmly. "I saw it in his eyes when I mentioned Piper. I know he loves her."

"You saw it…" Paige stared at her. "You went to see him, didn't you? You're the reason he left." Phoebe looked down at her hands, suddenly ashamed, thinking about the way that Piper had been acting all week. Paige saw it.

"Look, you did the right thing. Cole's not good for her, no matter what she thinks she feels. He'll only hurt her. But now that he's gone-"

"Piper's miserable." Phoebe finished for her. Paige shook her head.

"Maybe. But she'll move on from this."

"I don't know." Phoebe frowned. "You saw her after Leo left, and now Cole's gone too. What if it's one thing too many?"

"Cole tried to kill her. He tried to kill all of us, several times, actually. You can't be thinking that this could work. Especially after what he put you through."

"No." Phoebe's voice turned sad. "But I know what it's like to lose him. It nearly destroyed me. And Piper losing him on top of losing Leo…" She sighed and got up. "I don't know what this will do to her. I don't know if she can get over this."

* * *

"Piper?" Phoebe walked over to her in the kitchen. She was staring down at the sink. She had been washing dishes, it looked like, but now she was just standing there. After a moment, Piper spoke up quietly.

"Do you think I'm meant to be alone forever?"

"What? No, of course not." Phoebe grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. Piper wasn't crying, but there was still a great deal of pain showing in her eyes. She frowned.

"I've been thinking about it. There's got to be a reason, right? There has to be a reason that they both left."

"Piper, it wasn't your fault that they left." Piper's eyes flashed in sudden anger.

"Why not? Leo didn't fight for me. Cole didn't fight for me. He came back from hell for you. Maybe I'm presuming too much, huh? Maybe he never really did get over you. Then again, I don't think he would have left if it was you."

"Maybe…" Phoebe hesitated, but she hated seeing Piper blaming herself for this. "Maybe that means he cared about you more."

"He cared about me, so he left. That makes sense. That's what they all say, right?" She started past Phoebe.

"Maybe he didn't want to hurt you." Piper wiped a hand over her face.

"I promised I'd bring him back if something happened. I knew he wasn't evil. I knew that he hasn't been for years." Phoebe stared at her sister, and felt her own flare of anger.

"Oh? And what about last year? When he tried to kill you and Paige?"

"That wasn't him," Piper said quietly, her voice full of conviction, "it was the Source." Phoebe let out a frustrated breath and grabbed her shoulders again.

"Piper, Cole was the Source." The anger in Piper's eyes burned brighter.

"He was possessed, Phoebe. He didn't have a choice. He took in the hollow to save our lives and lost his free will as a consequence. He tried to fight it." She sighed, shaking her head. "God, why am I even talking about this? It doesn't matter anymore." Phoebe forced herself back to the present. Piper's words had brought up a lot of memories.

"I wasn't good enough for Leo to stay. Why should I be good enough for Cole?" Phoebe watched her leave before dropping down in one of the chairs again.

* * *

Three days later, Phoebe sat in the attic, staring at the spell that she had written. She had been thinking nearly not stop about what Piper had said, and about other things.

Piper wasn't any better, and Phoebe didn't know how she ever would be without this. Ever since she had talked to Piper she had been feeling guilty. Extremely so.

What if Piper was right about Cole? What if it hadn't been his fault? What if she had been wrong about him all along? She had thought she was doing the right thing for her sister but now she wasn't so sure.

Piper was miserable, and Phoebe hated that haunted, lost look in her eyes. Piper was convinced that there had to be something wrong with her, and that Cole obviously didn't care for her that much if he could just leave.

Phoebe knew that wasn't true. She really did believe that Cole loved Piper. She had seen it in his eyes when she had gone to his place; she had heard it in his voice. She knew that look, because at one time not to long ago it had been directed at her.

She didn't love Cole with the fire that she used to. She supposed that some part of her might always, but over the past months it had faded and she really was moving on, and it seemed that he was as well.

The fact that Piper obviously loved him as well had been a surprise. She had always thought that Piper and Leo were forever. She had viewed their love as something epic.

She could admit that she had been more terrified for her sister than anything when she realized the feelings that Cole and Piper had for each other. Piper had been in so much pain after Leo left, she didn't want her sister to go through that again, and she had been convinced that Cole would do that to her as well.

The fact that _she _had inflicted that pain on Piper was hard to take. Leo or Cole wasn't the one who had hurt her this time, she had. Phoebe looked down at the spell she had written, the spell that she had been putting off casting. The final test.

__

Bring Piper's destined love to this place

So that he may plead his case

Bring me the one who will love her best

So that she may find peace and rest

Phoebe stood up as she finished the spell and was unsurprised at the person that appeared in the attic a few seconds later.

"Cole." She said, looking him over. "You look like hell." He turned to her. He obviously hadn't shaved for days, and his normally neat hair was a mess. When he met her gaze, he didn't look surprised, just tired.

"What do you want, Phoebe? Did you bring me here to try and kill me again?"

"I brought you here to talk about Piper. She hasn't been doing to well lately." Cole stared at her for a minute before he laughed bitterly.

"Are you trying to drive me insane, Phoebe? I'm doing what you wanted. I'm staying away. I left town. I haven't been near Piper. What the hell else do you want from me?"

"I want…" She hesitated and closed her eyes for a second before continuing. "I want to apologize. I want to say that maybe I was wrong about this whole thing. Piper's been miserable since you left."

"A week ago you were convinced that I would wouldn't do anything but hurt her."

"Cole-"

"I didn't leave because of what you said." He interrupted her. "If it was just that you and I would have never gotten started. Your sisters weren't too happy with me back then, after all. I left because you were right." Phoebe could see the pain clearly in his eyes.

"What I did to you…" He sighed and wiped a hand across his face. "Look, I can barely live with myself now, if I did that to Piper…" Phoebe looked down. She could see it in his eyes. She'd been able to see it after he had saved her from becoming a mermaid for the rest of her life.

"You did hurt me, Cole. But, I'm not Piper. I think…I think maybe one of the reasons I couldn't give you another chance when you came back was because I let you go. I _mourned _you."

"Thought it was because I was evil and always would be."

"That might have been a part of it. But I've been thinking a lot lately. I think maybe I couldn't let myself get close to you because I couldn't watch you die again. So, I tried to move on, and I have been. And so have you. It wasn't easy but I think that I'm finally making peace with what happened between us. It was actually Piper who helped me with that, and I want to do the same for her."

"So you brought me here for closure? How did she help you with that?" Phoebe smiled a little.

"Just something she said about you. Look, Piper's a fighter. I've never seen her give up before. But after everything that's happened…" Phoebe shook her head. "She loves you, Cole."

"Sometimes love isn't enough. You said that to me, remember?"

"But sometimes it can be. We weren't meant to be together. I think maybe you and Piper were meant to be all along." She walked closer to him, and held out the piece of paper she wrote her spell on. "If you want more proof, here it is." She watched him as he took it and read what was written there. She crossed her arms when he looked back up at her.

"If you hurt my sister, I'll make you suffer." And then she smiled.

* * *

Piper was cooking dinner. She had been preparing more elaborate meals lately in an effort to keep herself busy. It didn't work so well most of the time, though. She couldn't keep her thoughts at bay.

"Bad time?" Piper spun around and stared, in shock. Cole stood in the doorway. She tried to speak several times before she was able to get words out.

"Cole." She choked out finally. She stared at him. "You look like hell."

"So I've heard." He said with a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" He stepped closer but she quickly walked around, keeping the island between them.

"I came for you." He said quietly.

"For me?" She felt anger building up inside of her, and all the pain that she had been feeling for the past week. "Why?"

"Look, I know you're angry."

"Angry? Why the hell would I be angry, Cole?! Because you left town without an explanation? Because you kissed me and then ditched me? I mean, you could have said _something._"

"I know. I'm sorry." Piper shook her head.

"You know, if you thought it was a mistake, I could have handled it. I know you have this epic love for Phoebe. I deserved the truth, Cole!"

"You're right, you do. So, here it is. I'm not in love with Phoebe anymore. I haven't been for a while now. It took what happened with Barbas for me to realize it, but it is the truth. There's a reason why the fear that he exploited was you rejecting me and not Phoebe." His eyes were soft as he met her gaze, and his smile warm. "I love you, Piper." Piper's anger deflated at this, but she still kept her distance from him.

"If you loved me you wouldn't have left the way you did." Cole sighed.

"Piper, I left because I love you." Piper crossed her arms across her chest, her entire body tense but she didn't move away when he walked around the island to stand in front of her.

"I was so terrified of hurting you. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I hurt you like that."

"You can't do this to me again, Cole. You can't just take off again and then expect everything to be okay when you finally decide to come back."

"I know. I'm not going anywhere again. I promise." He hesitantly pulled her into a hug. She was tense for another moment before she relaxed into the embrace and buried her head in his chest.

"If we try this, you have to promise not to run off again when something happens." Cole smiled a little down at her.

"So, you're willing to try this?" She smiled a little back, and lifted herself up to kiss him before resting her head back on his chest.

"Cole."

"Yeah?"

"I love you too."

* * *

Okay, so this one's done. Hope you guys liked it. I'm not so sure about the Phoebe and Cole scene but I thought that she would need some sort of closure before she'd be able to accept Cole and Piper being together.

I was thinking maybe of writing more on this story, like a sequel on some other things that happened in the series. Like maybe an AU of season six. Tell me what you think, and I'll probably start it soon. I've kind of gotten hooked on this pairing.


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